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GEMS OF PIETY, 



SELECT ; H" H* *»X 



REV. JOHN MASON. 




RBCOMM^NDSD BY 



DR. ISAAC WATTS. A 



CAREFULLY REVISED, WITH ADDITIONS OF POETRY. 



BOSTON 

PUBLISHED BY J. BUFFUM 

NO. 11 CORNHILL. 

1853. 







Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1352, 

By J. LADD, 

Ln the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 

Massachusetts. 



G. C. RAND, PRINTER, CORNniLL. 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 



027950 



TO THE 

REV. JOHN MASON 



Rev. and Dear Sir : 

I was pleased when you informed me that you have a 
design to print a new Edition of the Select Remains of your 
Rev. Grandfather. 'Tis very agreeable to hear that the spirit 
and temper which runs through that Book, is so far maintained 
among us that there are sufficient readers to encourage these 
Remains to be republished. I have often thought that this 
collection of short sentences, under various heads, are very 
proper to attend Christians of the middle rank of life, either 
in the parlor or kitchen, in the shop or store; and for that end 
I have been a frequent purchaser of them to distribute in fam- 
ilies among private Christians. 

By spending one minute in reading these, sentences now and 
then, serious persons may find sufficient matter to furnish 
them with frequent pious meditations in every circumstance 
of the Christian life ; and they may be as happily useful in 
the retirements of the closet. 



4 RECOMMENDATION. 

The style and manner appears to me much like that of the 
late Rev. Mr. Henery, whose practical works have been so 
universally esteemed. Though there is not any affectation of 
a train of close reasoning here, or magnificent and new ideas, 
which would tempt the polite and learned world to peruse 
them, yet a serious Christian of the highest rank can hardly 
read many of these sayings, without an inward relish and taste 
for them. 

The letters to his friends show the reader that the writer 
was always in heaven, and may teach him, upon every occa- 
sion, to bring religion into his converse with his friends, 
whether by writing or speaking. 

Upon the whole, I cannot but conceive it to be a useful 
service to mankind, to have these papers spread abroad in the 
world ; and that every occasion may be taken to support a 
sense of religion amidst the many temptations of this life. 
And if you imagine, sir, that my opinion may be of any 
advantage, you have free leave to make this letter public as 
you please. 

I am, Sir, 

Your affectionate brother, . 

And humble servant, 

ISAAC WATTS, 

Nemngton, Oct. 24, 1741. 



— *^*®*#?*- 



CONTENTS. 



Pah 

Moral Observations and Instructions, 9 

Of Religion in General, 13 

God, 20 

The Fear of God, 24 

Of the Presence of God, 25 

Of the Love of God, 27 

Of Christ, 29 

A Pathetic Invitation to Sinners to come to Christ, . . 36 

Of the Love of Christ, 38 

Of Saints, or True Believers, 40 

Of Sinners, 46 

Of Sin, 49 

Of Repentance, 55 

Of Faith, 59 

Of Humility, 62 

Of Contentment, 65 

Of Pride, 67 

Of Hvpocrisy, 70 

1* 



6 CONTENTS. 

Page 

Of Idleness, 72 

Of the Soul, . . 74 

Of the Heart and Conscience, 76 

Of Grace, 78 

Of Temptation, 82 

Of the World, 84 

Of the Word of God, 88 

Of the Law, 91 

Of Providence, 93 

Of Afflictions, 94 

Of Prayer, 97 

Of Eternity, 101 

Of Death, 103 

Of Heaven, 106 

Of Future Punishment 109 

Religious Observations, by way of Simile, . . . • ... Ill 

Serious Advice to Youth, 119 

Rules, 131 

General Eules of Action, 135 

Occasional Reflections, Directions, Means, and Signs of 

Grace, 140 

The Mystery of a Christian, 143 

Some Doubts and Fears of a Tender Conscience answered, 147 
Directions for those that are under Convictions of 

Conscience, , 152 

Directions to keep from Sin, 154 

Means to gain Repentance, 155 

Means to live at Peace, 157 

Means to be Content, 158 

Means to preserve Mercies, 161 



CONTEXTS. 7 

Pa ob 

Signs of Sincerity, 162 

Short Questions, whereby we may know whether the 

Heart be truly changed, 165 

Signs of Faith 166 

Signs of Love to Christ, 168 

Signs of the Fear of God, 170 

Signs of true Grace, 172 

Of being in Christ, 174 

Rules of Living, 177 



GEMS OE PIETY. 



MORAL OBSERVATIONS AND 
INSTRUCTIONS. 

" Life, like every other blessing, 
Derives its value from its use alone ; 
Not for itself, but for a nobler end 
The Eternal gave it — and that end is virtue." 

Though few there are that care to be 
virtuous, yet fewer they are that would not 
desire to be counted so. 

Nothing but what is God's dishonor should 
be our shame. 

We must not walk by example, but by rule. 

They that drive away time, spur a free 
horse. 



10 GEMS OF PIETY. 

As often as a man lays out for God, he lays 
up for himself. 

We have nothing that we can properly call 
our own, but what we have reason to be 
ashamed of. 

We are never well informed of the truth, 
till we are conformed to the truth. 

A conceit of knowledge is the greatest 
enemy to knowledge, and the greatest argu- 
ment of ignorance. 

We remember many things we should 
forget, (as injuries, disappointments, <fec.,) but 
forget what we should remember, viz: God 
and our souls. 

They that presume most in prosperity, are 
soonest subject to despair in adversity. 

Men may commend thee, but God may 
condemn thee. 

When God punishes another, he threatens 
thee; when he wounds another, he warns 
thee. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



11 



It is as great a mercy to be preserved in 
health, as to be delivered from sickness. 

If you mind nothing but the body, you lose 
body and soul too; if you mind nothing but 
earth, you lose earth and heaven too. 

As they, who for every slight infirmity 
take physic to repair their health, do rather 
impair it; so they, who for every trifle are 
eager to vindicate their character, do rather 
weaken it. 

Honesty is the best policy, and innocence 
the best wisdom. 

Improve the wit you have bought at a dear 
rate, and the wisdom you have gained by sad 
experience. 

Learn of Christ, who was sensible of inju- 
ries, yet patient under them. 

Be cheerful, but not light; solid, but not 
sad. 

Keep the body under, but the spirit up. 



12 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Keep such company as God keeps. 

What can you get by bad company ? If 
you are truly good, they will either taunt 
you, or despise you. 

Take heed of being infected with the 
breath of a profane heart. 

Let the body wait upon the soul, and both 
upon God. 

Speak not well of yourself, nor ill of 
others. 

Speak of people's virtues, conceal their 
infirmities; if you can say no good, say no 
ill of them. 

To render good for evil is god-like; to 
render good for good is man-like: to render 
evil for evil is beast-like; to render evil for 
good is devil-like. 

• Carry yourselves submissively towards 
your superiors; friendly towards your equals; 
condescendingly towards your inferiors; gen- 
erously towards your enemies; and lovingly 
towards all. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



13 



OF RELIGION IN GENERAL. 



M An arch of promise, her extremities 
Should rest on the horizon, and her span 
Embrace the universe." 



It signifies nothing to sa) r we will not 
change our religion, if our religion change 
not us. 

If a man lives and dies a mere professor, it 
had been better for him if he had lived and 
died a mere heathen. 



The duty of religion flows from a principle 
of religion. 
9 



14 GEMS OF PIETY. 

It is not talking, but walking with God, 
that gives a man the denomination of a 
Christian. 

Darkness may as well put on the name 
of light, as a wicked man the name of a 
Christian. 

It is our main business in this world to 
insure an interest in the next. 

A desire of happiness is natural, a desire 
of holiness, supernatural. 

If God hath done that good for us which 
he hath denied to the world, we ought to do 
that service for him which is denied him by 
the world. 

If we are willing, God will help us ; if 
sincere, God will accept us. 

A serious remembrance of God, is the 
fountain of obedience to God. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 15 

If you forget God when you are young, 
God may forget you when you are old. 

When a Christian considers the goodness 
of God's ways, he wonders that all the world 
doth not walk in them. But when he con- 
siders the blindness, depravity and prejudice 
of the heart by nature, he wonders that any 
should enter upon them. 

Make your calling sure and your election 
is sure. 

Uneven walking, with a neglect of watch- 
ing makes a disconsolate soul. 



-*& 



Four things a Christian should especially 
labor after, viz: to be humble and thankful, 
watchful and cheerful. 

If we would not fall into things unlawful, 
we must sometimes deny ourselves in those 
that are lawful. 

Salvation then draws near to man when it 
is his main care. 



16 GEMS OF PIETY. 

The ordinances of God are the means of 
salvation; but the God of ordinance is the 
author of salvation. 

Religion must be our business, then it will 
be our delight. 

It will cost something to be religious; it 
will cost more not to be so. 

A Christian's life is nothing else but a short 
trial of his graces. 

Lukewarmness is the best natural but worst 
spiritual temper a man can be in. 

There are few but are sometimes in a serious 
fit; but how few are in a serious frame, who 
have not an abiding sense of God upon their 
hearts: it is a voluntary cannot that keeps the 
soul from God. 

The gate which leads to life is a strait gate, 
therefore we should fear; it is an open gate, 
therefore we should hope. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 17 

Do the Lord's work in the Lord's time. 
Pray whilst God hears; hear whilst God 
speaks; believe whilst God promises; obey 
whilst God commands. 

That man hath no sense of mercy, that 
wants a sense of duty. 

Two duties must run through a Christian's 
life, like the warp through the wool — bless- 
ing and trusting. 

Eeligion is much talked of, but little under- 
stood till the Conscience be awakened; then 
a man knows the worth of a soul, and the 
want of a Saviour. 

Then doth religion flourish in the soul, 
when it knows how to naturalize spiritual 
things, and to spiritualize natural things. 

We may judge of our eternal state by our 
spiritual state; and our spiritual state by the 
delightful and customary actions of our lives. 



18 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



If we expect to live with. Christ in heaven, 
we must live to him on earth. 



We may expect God's protection so long as 
we keep within bounds. 

Our opportunities are, like our souls, very 
precious; but if they are lost, they are irre- 
coverably lost. 

That preaching which is plain, pure, power- 
ful, and practical, men are apt to dislike. 

Eeligion begins with a knowledge of man 7 s 
self, and is perfected with the knowledge 
of God. 

This is a three-fold mystery — a gospel 
published in the midst of an ungodly world, 
a little church preserved in the midst of 
devils, and a little grace kept alive in the 
midst of corruptions. 

The service of God is the soul's work, and 
the favor of God is its reward. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



19 



A man may be perfect in obedience, and 
yet impartial. 

God never fails them that wait for him, nor 
forsakes them that work for him. 



4" 



20 



GEMS OP PIETY. 



GOD. 



" The nameless He, whose nod is Nature's birth ; 
And Nature's shield, the shadow of his hand ; 
Her dissolution, his suspended smile ! 
The great First La?t." 



We may truly conceive of God, though we 
cannot fully conceive of him. We may have 
right apprehensions of him, though not an 
exact comprehension of him. 



Then our conceptions of God's attributes 
are carnal, when our high thoughts of one 
give us low thoughts of another. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 21 

His goodness makes his majesty amiable, 
and his majesty makes his goodness wonder- 
ful. His love is not abated by his greatness, 
nor his greatness by his love. His holiness 
hinders him not from dwelling with the poor 
in spirit. 

Nothing is great enough for him to admire, 
who is infinite majesty ; nothing is mean 
enough for him to despise, who is infinite 
mercy. 

God deals with his servants, not as a pas- 
sionate master, but as a compassionate father. 

What pleaseth God should please us, be- 
cause it pleaseth God. 

A sight of God begins a saint on earth, 
and perfects him in heaven. 

God takes notice of every particular man. 
as if there were none else; and yet takes 
notice of all, as if they were but one man. 



22 GEMS OF PIETY. 

God repented that he made man, but never 
repented that he redeemed man. 

We cannot live naturally without God; 
how then can we live happily without him ? 

We may know what God intends for us, by 
what he hath wrought in us. 

They that have God for their God, have 
angels for their guard. 

Many have lost for God, but none ever lost 
by God. If they have lost in temporals, they 
have been eternal gainers. Matt. xix. 29. 

There is a sure rule — God never takes any 
thing from his people, but he gives them some 
thing better in the stead of it. 

God is a great God, and therefore we 
should wait upon him; he is a good God, and 
therefore it is not in vain to wait upon him. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 23 

A man may be a worshipper of the true 
God, and yet not a true worshipper of God. 

The lowest reverence is due to the highest 
majesty. 

Fear God for his power, trust him for his 
wisdom, love him for his goodness, praise him 
for his greatness, believe him for his faithful- 
ness, and adore him for his holiness. 

All creatures are as nothing compared with 
God, and absolutely nothing without God. 



—s*0=^S«?@4N — 



24 GEMS OF PIETY. 



THE FEAR OF GOD. 



" Fear God, ye saints, and you will then 
Have nothing else to fear." 

They that fear God least, have the greatest 
reason to fear him. 

A fear of departing from God is a good 
means to keep us from departing from him. 

The more we fear God, the less we shall 
fear men. 

They that will not fear God in prosperity, 
will be afraid of him in adversity. 



GEMS OF PIETT. 25 



OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 



'• In desert wood?, with thee, my God, 
Where human footsteps never trod, 
How happy should I be." 

If God's earthly presence is so good, what 
is his heavenly presence ? 

If God's being with us is so sweet, what is 
it to be with God ? 

There is joy in God's gracious presence, but 
in his glorious presence there is fulness of joy. 

There are pleasures in approaching to God 
here, but at his right hand there are pleasures 
for evermore. 
3 



20 GEMS OF PIETY. 

The nearer we are to Christ, the nearer is 
God to us. 

The presence of God's glory is in heaven; 
the presence of his power, on earth; the pres- 
ence of his justice, in hell; and the presence 
of his grace, with his people. If he deny us 
his powerful presence, we fall into nothing; if 
he deny us his gracious presence, we fall into 
sin; if he deny us his merciful presence, we 
fall into hell. 



-^^fg4^^^ 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



27 



OF THE LOYB OP GOD. 



" Love is the golden chain that binds 
The happy souls above ; 
And he 's an heir of heaven, who finds 
His bosom glow with love." 

If the love of God set us to work, the God 
of love will pay us our wages. 

"We hated God without a cause, and he 
loved us without a cause. 



Love begets love. ? T is a flame that 
communicates itself. They that have much 
forgiven them, much done for them, much 
laid out for them, and much laid up for them, 
will love much. 



28 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Our love to God is the reflection of his 
love to us. 1 John iv. 19: " We love him, 
because he first loved us" 



c^t=^cx^xo5 :> o^ s <3 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



29 



OF CHRIST. 



Christ made himself like us, that he might 
make us like himself. 

Christ must needs have died. How else 
could sin be expiated, the law satisfied, the 
devil conquered, and man be saved ? 

They that deny themselves for Christ, shall 
enjoy themselves in Christ. 

Men had rather hear of Christ crucified for 
them, than be crucified for Christ. 

If Christ denied innocent nature out of 
love to us, shall not we deny corrupt nature 
out of love to him? 
3* 



30 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Christ by his death appeared to be the son 
of man; by his resurrection he appeared to 
be the Son of God. 

Christ was the great promise of the Old 
Testament; the Spirit is the great promise of 
the New. 

Christ's strength is the Christian's strength. 

If we would stand, Christ must be our 
foundation; if we would be safe, Christ must 
be our sanctuary. 

In regard to natural life, we live in God; 
in regard to spiritual life, Christ lives in us. 

He that thinks he hath no need of Chriat, 
hath too high thoughts of himself; he that 
thinks Christ cannot help him, hath too low 
thoughts of Christ. 

Presumption abuses Christ; despair refuses 
him. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



31 



Christ satisfied God to the uttermost, and 
therefore can save sinners to the uttermost. 

The blood of Christ, which satisfied the 
justice of God, may satisfy the conscience of 
an awakened sinner. 

If sin was better known, Christ would be 
better thought of. 

If sin does not taste bitter, Christ cannot 
taste sweet. 

When sin is hell, Christ is heaven. 

There is no passage from sin to holiness till 
we are passed from sin to Christ. 

Christ may have an interest in us, though 
we may not be able to see our interest 
in him. 



Christ hath entreated God to be reconciled 
to us, and now he entreats us to be reconciled 
to God. 



32 GEMS OF PIETY. 

God will give us nothing for our sakes, but 
he will deny us nothing for Christ's sake. 

None are so low as Christ was, none so 
lowly, none so loving. 

We may know what Christ hath done for 
us, by what he hath done in us. 

Creatures die that our bodies may live; 
Christ died that our souls may live. 

Our Judge, instead of condemning us, 
stepped from the bench, and died for us. 

Christ is to be the believer's judge, and if 
he were to choose his judge, he could not 
choose a better friend. 

As God glorifies Christ in heaven, so the 
Spirit glorifies him on earth, in the hearts of 
believers. 

A believer's comfort in living is to live to 
Christ; and in dying, it is that he shall go 
to Christ. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



33 



The blood of Christ upon the heart is the 
greatest blessing — upon the head is the 
greatest curse. 

It matters not who are our accusers, if 
Christ be our advocate. 



Christ's blood 




Eansom. 


Christ's Spirit 




Comforter. 


Christ's Word 


> is the soul's < 


Food. 


Christ's Supper 




Feast, 


The Lord's Day 




Market-day 



A Christian may triumph in the death of 
Christ ! " death ! where is thy sting ? 
grave ! where is thy victory ? hell ! where 
is thy terror? world! where is thy malice? 
sin ! where is thy strength ? my soul ! 
where are thine accusers ? " 



There is no honor like a relation to Christ: 
no riches like the graces of Christ; no learn- 
ing like the knowledge of Christ; and there 
are no persons like the servants of Christ. 



34: GEMS OF PIETY. 

Christ executes the office of a prophet in 
our calling, of a priest in our justification, 
and of a king in our sanctification. Let us, 
then, hear him as our prophet, rely on him as 
our priest, and obey him as our king. Think 
not the worse of him for his manger, or his 
cross. As he ceaseth not to be man in his 
highest estate, so he was God in his lowest. 
His words were oracles, and his works mira- 
cles. His life was a pattern; his death a 
sacrifice; his resurrection, glorious; his ascen- 
sion, triumphant; his intercession, prevalent; 
and his coming again will be magnificent. 
All the angels in heaven adore him; all the 
devils in hell fear him; and all the sons and 
daughters of Adam must stand before him. 

Own Christ's person, love his name, em- 
brace his doctrines, obey his commands, and 
submit to his cross. His person is lovely, his 
name is sweet, his doctrines are comfortable, 
his commands are rational, and his cross 
honorable. The very angels admire him, and 
shall not we? 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



35 



A depraved understanding will not yield 
that the creature is so bad, and that Christ is 
so good. 

! did we but know ourselves and our 
Saviour! We are poor, but he is rich; we 
are dead, but he is life; we are sin, but he is 
righteousness; we are guiltiness, but he is 
grace; we are misery, but he is mercy; we 
are lost, but he is salvation. If we are 
willing, he never was otherwise. He ever 
lives, ever loves, ever pities, ever pleads. He 
loves and saves to the uttermost, all that 
come unto him. 



36 GEMS OF PIETY. 



A PATHETIC INVITATION 

TO SINNERS TO COME TO CHRIST. 



Haye you sins, or have you none? If you 
have, whither should you go but to the Lamb 
of God, that taketh away the sins of the 
world ? Have you souls, or have you none ? 
If you have, whither should you go but to 
the Saviour of souls? Is there a life to come, 
or is there not ? If there is, whither shall 
you go but unto Him who only hath the words 
of eternal life? Is there a wrath to come, 
or is there not ? If there is, whither should 
you go but to Him who only can deliver from 
the wrath to come ? And will he not receive 
you ? If he yielded himself into the hands of 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



37 



them that sought his life, will he hide himself 
from the hearts of them that seek his mercy ? 
If he was willing to be taken by the hands of 
violence, is he not much more willing to be 
taken by the hands of faith ? He that died 
for thy sins, will he cast thee off for thine 
infirmities ? come, come, come. I charge 
you, come; I beseech you, come; come, and 
He will give you life. Come, and he will 
give you rest. Come, and he will receive 
you. Knock, and he will open to you. Look 
to him, and he will save you. Did ever any 
come to him for a cure and go away without 
it ? Thou wouldst find some thing in thyself, 
but thou findest nothing but what thou hast 
reason to be ashamed of; but let not that 
hinder, but further, thy coming? Come as 
thou art; come poor, come needy, come naked, 
come empty, come wretched — only come, 
only believe. His heart is free, his arms are 
open; it is his joy and his crown to receive 
thee. If thou art willing, he never was 
otherwise. 



38 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OF THE LOVE OP CHRIST. 



" love divine ! what hast thou done ? 
The immortal God hath died for me ! " 

Nothing grieves Christ more than to have 
his love slighted; nothing pleaseth him more 
than to have it accepted. 

The love of Christ is stronger than death, 
and sweeter than life. 

Every new sense of Christ's love, adds new 
degrees to ours. 

The love of Christ hath a height without a 
top, a depth without a bottom, a length with- 



GEMS OF PIETY. 39 

out an end, and a breadth without a limit. 

Epii. iii. 18, 19. 

Christ's sorrows, griefs, and sufferings, can 
be paralleled with nothing but his love. 



o*c*eX?S!&5X3o^ 



40 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OF SAINTS, OR TRUE BELIEVERS. 



God liatli no sons that are unlike himself. 

Believers, children of the same family, are 
members of the same Son, and inhabitants of 
the same Spirit; fellow citizens, fellow ser- 
vants, fellow soldiers, fellow travellers, and 
fellow heirs. 

None are so easily acquainted, so closely 
knit together, and so much endeared to one 
another, as real Christians. 

One true Christian differs from another 
without breach of charity, as friends love one 
another, though in different garbs. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 41 

It is not so considerable in a Christian, 
what his judgment is, as what his temper is. 
Heart work is better than head work, and it 
is a better temper to be fervent in charity 
than in disputes. 

Better is a melancholy saint than a mad 
sinner. 

If good men are sad, it is not because they 
are good, but because they are not better. 

Whom God chooses, the world refuses. 

God's gold is the world's dross. They of 
whom the world is not worthy, are counted 
not worthy to live in the world. 

If believers are condemned by the world, 
let them remember that they will not be con- 
demned with the world. Sin cannot live in 
a believer; a believer cannot live in sin. 
4* 



42 GEMS OF PIETY. 

A good man is so far acquainted with, the 
corruption of his own heart, that instead of 
condemning others, he is apt to account them 
better than himself. 

A child of God had rather a thousand 
times suffer for Christ, than that Christ 
should suffer by him. 

The imperfections of a believer's sanctifica- 
tion make him continually depend on Christ 
for his justification. 

When a child of God thinks he can go 
alone, he is nearest falling. 

A true Christian may be weary in serving 
God, but God is never weary in serving him. 

He is neither afraid of dying or living; he 
desires to go to heaven to see Christ, yet is 
willing to stay upon earth to serve Christ. 
If the children of God did but know wh&t 
was best for them, they would perceive that 



GEMS OF PIETY. 43 

God did that which was best for them. A 
Christian shall be here as long as he hath any 
work to do for Christ, or as long as Christ 
hath any work to accomplish in him. Christ 
will fit him for himself, and then take him to 
himself. 

A true Christian lives like a saint, and 
begs like a sinner. 

All God's children have received God's 
Spirit, whereby they are made humble, believ- 
ing, and holy ; humble in regard to their sins, 
believing in regard of Christ, and holy in 
regard of their conscience and care to keep 
all God's commandments. 

A good deal of the trouble of God's people 
arises from a mistake and misapprehension of 
God. They judge of God by their sense, 
not by his promise; by their own frame, not 
by his constant nature. 

As saints have groanings unutterable, so 
they have joys unspeakable. 



44 GEMS OP PIETY. 

A Christian is what he is between God and 
his own soul. 

All saints have not their doub tings; David 
cries, " Cast me not off in mine old age." — 
Ps. lxxi. 9. "Will the Lord cast off for 
ever, and will he be favorable no more ? n — 
Ps. lxxvii. 7. Peter: "Lord, is it I? " — 
Matt. xxvi. 22. And Paul: "Lest I should 
be a cast away." — 1 Cor. xi. 27. But, be- 
lievers ! remember there may be true grace 
where there is no comfort. 

Believe firmly, hope joyfully, love fervently, 
pray earnestly, walk humbly, work diligently, 
and wait quietly, and all this will be gra- 
ciously considered. 

Hold up, hold on, hold out, Sold fast that 
which you have received; still watch, still 
pray, still believe; fight and run, that you 
may obtain. 7 T is but a little while, and he 
that comes will come, and will not tarry; it 
is but a little while, and your warfare is 
accomplished, and your iniquities shall be 



GEMS OF PIETY. 45 

everlastingly separated from you, your sins 
and sorrows, tears and fears, fled and gone, 
gone for ever, and you meet with an unspeak- 
able reward. 



*^&^<&J&\CX3^ 



46 GEMS OP PIETY. 



OF SINNERS. 



" Sinner, here is hope for thee, 
Jesus bore the sinner's shame ; 
This is thy sufficient plea : 
Life is in his saving name." 

Are they not miserable who, if they had 
their wish, could not be happy ? 

They that will not hear Christ say, " Come 
to me/ 7 in a day of grace, shall hear him say, 
" Depart from me," in a day of judgment. 

If we are graceless here, we shall be 
speechless hereafter. 

Sinners are first driven, then drawn by God. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 47 

The conversion of a sinner is a greater 
wonder than the creation of the world. 

If a sinner's thoughts be not changed by 
grace, they will be changed hereafter, by 
experience. 

They that are least serious, have the great- 
est reason to be so. Their condition is awful, 
and therefore their disposition ought to be so. 

Hatred is due to sin, ^compassion to the 
sinner. 

Sinner ! if you will not hear God call to- 
day, you will harden your hearts to-day; and 
if you harden them to-day, God may harden 
them to-morrow. If you will not set about 
repentance to-day, God may justly deny you 
his assistance to-morrow. 

If you will not do that which God hath 
enabled you to do, how can you look that he 
should do that for you, which of yourselves 
you cannot do ? 



48 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Do not think to begin to live, when thou 
art ready to die. 

If you would not go to hell, you must know 
that you have deserved it. 

Let not your hearts flatter you, nor the 
world comfort you, when God threatens you. 

God tells you, if you repent you shall find 
mercy; and will you not believe him? Be- 
cause thou hast been a sinner, wilt thou make 
God a liar ? 

Sinners, you must be changed ; if your 
hearts be not changed for the better, your 
condition will be changed for the worse. 

The worst of the ways of God are better 
than the best of the ways of sin. 



-^g^&i^ 



GEMS OP PIETY. 49 



OF SIN. 



" Sin has a thousand treacherous arts 
To practice on the mind ; 
With flattering looks she tempts our hearts, 
But leaves a sting behind." 

He that pleads for sin, is an advocate for 
his accuser. 

God allows any thing but sin. 

If sin be in the fashion, we must be out 
of it. 

Then a man shows himself to be a Christ- 
ian, when he chooses rather to suffer than 
sin. 

5 



50 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Sin digs graves for bodies, and kindles hell 
for souls. 

That is a sufficient cause for trouble, that is 
the cause of all the trouble in the world. 

Should not we groan for that which makes 
the whole creation groan? 

If the heart be under the power of sin, the 
conscience is under the guilt of sin. If thou 
art not purified, thou art not pardoned. 

A man can never leave sin thoroughly, till 
he loathes it heartily. 

We must be sick of sin, before we be dead 
to sin. 

There is no sin a man can be tempted to, 
but he will find greater comfort in resisting 
than indulging. 

How can we say that we love Christ, if we 
love sin, which was an enemy to his life and 
soul when he was on earth, and is an enemy 
to his glory now that he is in heaven. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 51 

Our sins cried as loud to heaven, as the 
Jews did to earth, that Christ might be 
crucified. 

Go to Golgotha, and see what sin did there. 

Christ did not die for sin, that we might 
live to sin. 

Christ died that our sins might die, and 
our souls live. 

All our sins shall not separate between 
God and our souls, if unbelief doth not 
separate between Christ and our souls. 

There is no sin but what may be traced up 
to unbelief. 

He that glories in his sin, glories in his 
shame. 

We should be ashamed of sin, but not 
ashamed to take shame for sin. 



52 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Get this principle in your hearts: There is 
nothing got by sin, nor lost by holiness. 

By suffering we may avoid sinning, but by 
sinning we cannot avoid suffering. 

One that truly fears God, is afraid of sin; 
he sees more evil in it than all the evil in 
the world. 

If we be not humble for sin, we derogate 
from the majesty of God; if we despair under 
it, we derogate from his mercy. - 

One that is sincere, hates sin in himself, 
and laments it in others. 

Our hatred of sin must be irreconcilable, 
and our endeavors against it, perpetual. 

Want of sorrow for sin more argues want 
of love to Christ, than the sin itself. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 53 

Sin is a penitent's burden and wound; but 
Christ is his cure and comfort. 

Sin is the sickness of the soul, and Christ 
the only physician that can cure it of the 
leprosy of profaneness, the fever of concu- 
piscence, the dropsy of covetousness, the 
tympany of pride, the lethargy of lukewarm- 
ness, the phrenzy of passion, and the palsy of 
unbelief. 

Hatred is heart-murder ; lust is heart- 
adultery; and covetousness, heart-stealing. 

How tender is our flesh, how hard our 
hearts ! i. e. how much more sensible are we 
of suffering than sin ! 

We should fear to think that before God, 
which we are afraid to do before man. God 
knows our hearts better than any man knows 
our faces. 

Tain thoughts are sin's advocates, and 
Christ's adversaries. 

5* 



54 GEMS OF PIETY. 

God is so holy that he would not suffer 
such an evil as sin, but that he is so wise that 
he can bring good out of it. 



* 



GEMS OF PIETY. 55 



OF EBPENTANCB. 



11 Repent, the voice celestial cries, 
Nor longer dare delay ; 
The man who scorns God's mandate dies, 
And meets a fiery day.'* 

Repentance begins in the humiliation of 
the heart, and ends in the reformation of 
the life. 

Though we want power to repent, yet we 
do not want means to repent, nor power to 
use these means. 

He that repents of sin, as sin, doth im- 
plicitly repent of all sin. 



56 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Let not sinful pleasures prevent godly 
sorrows. 

An humble confession of sins brings shame 
to ourselves, but glory to God. 

You cannot repent too soon. There is no 
day like to-day. Yesterday is gone ; to- 
morrow is God's, not your own. And think 
how sad it will be to have your evidences to 
seek when your cause is to be tried; to have 
your oil to buy, when you should have it 
to burn ! 

Let the hopes of mercy encourage you to 
the exercise of repentance. 

Turn to God, and he will turn to you, and 
then you are happy, though all the world 
turn against you. 

If we think amiss of Christ, we shall never 
believe ; if we think well of sin, we shall 
never repent. 



GEMS OF PIETY. • 57 

If we put off our repentance to another 
day, we have a day more to repent of, and a 
day less to repent in. 

If we study to honor God, we cannot do it 
better, than by confessing our sins, and laying 
ourselves low at the feet of Christ. 

Godly sorrow is the sorrow of love, the 
melting of the heart; love is the pain and 
pleasure of a mourning heart. 

The evangelical penitent loves and grieves. 
"Alas, (saith he,) that I, who am as high as 
heaven in privilege, should be as deep as hell 
in iniquity ! Instead of repenting, I have 
run further on score ! Instead of honoring 
God, I have dishonored him ! Instead of 
pleasing him, I have provoked him ! Instead 
of following him, I have forsaken him! 0, 
what bowels have I grieved ! How can I sin 
against my Jesus ! Shall I deny and crucify 
my Saviour ? He was crucified for me, and 



58 GEMS OF PIETY. 

shall he be crucified by me ? Shall I wound 
his heart, and pierce his side again, and give 
him cause to say, ' These are the wounds I 
received in the house of my friends ? ' " 



e^c^ex^acs^^^^ 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



59 



OP FAITH. 



" Faith is like the sun's fair flower, 
Which, midst the clouds that shroud it, and the winds 
That wave it to and fro, and all the changes 
Of air, and earth, and sky, doth rear its head, 
And looketh up still steadfast to its God." 



Reliance is the essence of faith, Christ is 
the object, the Word is the food, and obedi- 
ence the proof; so that the true faith is a 
depending upon Christ for salvation in a way 
of obedience, as he is offered in the word. 



The true tears of repentance flow from the 
eye of faith. 



60 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Though faith be necessary to our justifi- 
cation, good works are necessary to our 
salvation. 

We must derive our works from faith, and 
demonstrate our faith by our works. 

God is often pleased to embitter a life of 
sense, that he may endear the life of faith. 

A steadfast faith begets a constant peace. 

The more faith the more humility. 

Keep good principles, and they will keep 
you. 

Men would first see, and then believe; but 
they must first believe, and then see. 

As believers live upon Christ by faith, so 
they live to him by obedience. 

Justifying faith is always attended by 
universal obedience. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 61 

There is a difference between contending 
for the faith, and babbling for a fancy. 

Assurances set the notion of faith too high; 
assent, too low. 

There is as much difference between faith 
and assurance, as there is between the root 
and the fruit. 

There may be joy without faith, and there 
may be faith without joy. 

Human faith is founded upon probability; 
Divine faith upon certainty. 

If the exercise of faith be the care of your 
souls, the end of your faith will be the salva- 
tion of your souls. 



— N> ^ > g< < 2> 4H — 






62 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OF HUMILITY. 



" Humility, that low, sweet root, 
From which all heavenly virtues shoot." 

To be low is the safest and comeliest post- 
ure for sinful creatures. 

It is the creature's honor to abase himself 
before the most high God. 

God had rather see his children humble for 
sin, than proud of grace. 

If men did but know themselves more, 
they would be more humble. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 63 

They that are humble, are content and 
thankful. 

An humble spirit is a charitable and 
quiet spirit. 

Judge thyself with a judgment of sincerity, 
and thou wilt judge others with a judgment 
of charity. 

To humble yourself is the only way to 
rise. 

Believers must be humble for sin pardoned, 
and because it is pardoned. 

When Paul was a Pharisee, he thought he 
was blameless; when he was a Christian, the 
chief of sinners. Before, any thing but 
Christ; now, none but Christ. 

If Christ humbled himself to honor ■ our 
nature, we should humble ourselves to honor 
his name. 



64 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Neither all the devils in hell, nor all the 
temptations of the world, can hurt that man 
that keeps himself humble and depending on 
Christ. 

It is no humiliation to aggravate sin above 
Christ's saving power. 

Despair is a corruption of humiliation; it 
is a counterfeit humility, a sullen pride, a 
covert of a hardened spirit. 

This is true humiliation which, like a har- 
binger, makes way for Christ, and throws the 
soul at his feet. 

Our Saviour was a preacher and pattern 
of humility; he so admired it, that he set 
them in the highest form that had the lowest 
hearts. 

None so high and glorious as Christ; none 
so m.eek and lowly. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 65 



OF CONTENTMENT. 



11 When winds the mountain oak assail, 
And lay its glories waste, 
Content may slumber in the vale, 
Unconscious of the blast." 



Humility is the mother of Contentment. 

The deeper jour self-abhorrence, the easier 
is self-resignation. 

They that deserve nothing, should be con- 
tent with any thing. 

Bless God for what you have, and trust 
God for what you want. 
6* 



66 GEMS OF PIETY. 

"We must commit our souls to God's keep- 
ing, and submit ourselves to God's disposing. 

We should obey his revealed will, and then 
be resigned to his providential will. 

If we cannot bring our condition to our 
mind, we must labor to bring our mind to our 
condition. 

Neither contentment nor discontentment 
arises from the outward condition, but from 
the inward disposition. 

If a man is not content in that state he is 
in, he will not be content in any state he 
would be in. 



- — ^^Mk&Z^ 



GEMS OF PIETY. 67 



OF PRIDE 



11 Pride goeth before destruction." 

That which a man envies in another, he 
would be proud of if he had it himself. 

Some are proud of what they are, others of 
what they are not. 

There is a sullen pride in not acknowledg- 
ing benefits. 

A man may be poor in purse yet proud in 
spirit. 

There may be pride in rags, in a solemn 
look and lowly carriage. 



68. GEMS OF PIETY. 

God had rather his people should fare 
poorly, than live proudly. 

How canst thou be a judge of another's 
heart, that dost not know thine own ? 

As the first step heavenward is humility, 
so the first step hellward is pride. 

Pride counts the gospel foolishness, but the 
gospel always shows pride to be so. 

Pride is a sin that will rise out of the 
ashes of other's sins. 

Folly is the beginning of pride, and shame 
shall be the end of it; either temporal repen- 
tance, or eternal punishment. 

Shall the sinner be proud that he is going 
to hell ? Shall the saint be proud that he is 
newly saved from it ? 

Thou that canst call nothing thine own but 
sin and shame, art thou proud ? 



GEMS OF PIETY. 69 

A worm, and proud ? Emptiness, and 
proud ? Perishing, and proud ? 

Pride is founded on error and self-igno- 
rance. 



cxc^c><^^Q5^ sC ^ ^v<:) 



70 GEMS OP PIETY. 



OF HYPOCRISY. 



"If there's a sin more deeply black than others, 
Distinguished from the list of common crimes ; 
A legion in itself, and doubly dear 
To the dark prince of hell, it is hypocrisy." 



A hypocrite is one that neither is what he 
seems, nor seems what he is. 

A hypocrite is the picture of a saint: but 
his paint shall be washed off, and he shall 
appear in his own colors. 

God is in good earnest with us; we ought, 
therefore, to be so with him. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



71 



A hypocrite is hated of the world for 
seeming a Christian, and hated of God for 
not being one. 




72 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OF IDLENESS. 



;; Satan finds some mischief still, 
For idle hands to do." 



Idleness is the mother of many wanton 
children. 

They that do nothing are in the ready way 
to do that which is worse than nothing. 

If we hide our talent in the earth, we shall 
lose our treasure in heaven. 









GEMS OF PIETY. 73 

A Christian should never say he hath 
nothing to do. 

It was not for nothing that we were called 
out of nothing. 



■ <3Hr^&f#^^ 



74 GEMS OP PIETY. 



OP THE SOUL. 



" 0, nothing but that soul which God has given 
Could lead us thus to look on earth for heaven ; 
O'er dross without to shed the flame within, 
And dream of virtue while we gaze on sin ! " 

It matters not what a man loses, if lie save 
his soul; but if he lose his soul, it matters not 
what he saves. 

They that are least sensible of their souls 7 
wants, are most miserable. 

? Tis our greatest wisdom to be tenderly 
watchful over the frame of our spirit, to 
observe what helps it, and what injures it. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 75 

If you lose your time, you lose your hopes; 
and if you lose your hopes, you lose your 
souls; and when your souls are lost, they 
shall never be recovered; and when your 
time is lost, it shall never be redeemed. 



N>^ 



76 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OF THE HEART AND CONSCIENCE. 



The soft mercies of God will break the 
"hard heart of man. 

A hard heart is not so soon broken, as a 
broken heart is bound up. 

■ It is better to have a good conscience and 
be censured, than to have a bad one and be 
flattered. 

We must hear the warnings of conscience, 
or we shall feel the woundings of con- 
science. 



GEMS OP PIETY. 77 

A word from God, a look from Christ, 
a touch from the Spirit, will break the 
heart. 



TS GEMS OF PIETY. 



OP GRACE 



" Grace ! 't is a charming sound, 
Harmonious to the ear ! 
It sooths our sorrow, heals our wound. 
And drives away our fear." 

The notion of free grace may make per- 
sons dissolute; but a sense of it restrains 
from sin. 

The goodness of God respects our empti- 
ness; the grace of God, our sinfulness; and 
the mercy of God, our unworthiness. 

What sin is there, -which grace cannot 
pardon? "What heart is there, which grace 
cannot soften? What soul is there, which 
grace cannot save ? 



GEMS OF PIETY. 79 

All grace flows from Christ united to the 
soul, as all life flows from the soul united to 
the body. 

The more God's justice was declared 
towards his Son, the more was his mercy 
magnified towards the sinner. 

God humbled his Son, to exalt his grace. 

Saul was not so free in persecuting Christ, 
as Christ was in pardoning Paul. 

Bless God for Christ, . Christ for the Spirit, 
and the Spirit for grace. 

Possibly a Christian's enemies may spoil 
him of his common mercies; but they shall 
never rob him of his covenant mercies. 

God's faithfulness performed what his 
mercy promised. 

Mercy drew the covenant ; faithfulness 
keeps it. Mercy called us; faithfulness will 
not cast us off. 



80 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Common mercies may be sweet, but cove- 
nant mercies are sure. 

Abusers of mercy are treasurers up of 
wrath. 

If thou wert worthy, thou couldst have no 
mercy. 

There is grace in the desire of grace, as 
there is sin in the desire of sin. 

You that' have found mercy, show mercy. 

Though God in mercy hath done great 
things for you, yet consider what in justice 
he might have done to you. 

Whilst we carry a sense of grace in our 
conscience to comfort us, let us carry a sense 
of sin in our memory to humble us. 

We can never bless God enough for his 
patience, that hath kept us so long out of 
hell, nor for his mercy, that so earnestly 
invites us to heaven. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 81 

All that are chosen, are vessels of mercy; 
all that are regenerate, are patterns of 
mercy; all that are saved, are monuments of 
mercy; and the work of heaven is to sing 
the loud praises of mercy. 

It melts the heart to think that God is as 
full of mercy, as I am of sin; he as free to 
forgive, as I am to offend ; he hath daily 
mercies for daily sins. 

The heart of man is such a barren soil, 
that no good can grow therien, unless 
Almighty grace plant it. 

Grace is gn immortal seed, cast into an 
immortal soil, that brings forth immortal 
fruit. 



' erA^^^Nisr— - 



j 



82 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OF TEMPTATION. 



" Jesus, lover of my soul, 
Let me to thy mercy fly, 
While the raging billows roll, 
While temptation still is nigh." 

Temptations are instructions. 

He is over-wise that goes out of God's 
way to escape a cross. 

God will either keep his saints from 
temptations by his preventing mercy, or in 
temptations by his supporting mercy, or find 
a way for their escape by his delivering 
mercy. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 83 

A Christian that lives here among his 
enemies should never stir abroad without his 
guard. 

Satan tempts to sin; the Spirit counsels 
against sin. 

If you follow Satan, you will find the 
tempter prove a tormentor; if you follow 
the Spirit, you will find the counsellor prove 
a comforter. 



e^C>cX^Q$XC^DSc 



84 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



OF THE WORLD. 



'•'Why should this earth delight us so ? 
Why should we fix our eyes 
On those low grounds where sorrows grow, 
And every pleasure dies ? " 

If the world be our portion here, hell will 
be our portion hereafter. 

We must neither leave the world nor 
love it. 

The world promises comforts, and pays 
sorrows. 



Riches and prosperity will either kill with 
care, or surfeit with delight. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 85 

Be not proud of riches, but afraid of them, 
lest they be as silver bars to cross the way 
to heaven. 

We put a price upon riches, but riches 
cannot put a price upon us. 

We must answer for our riches, but our 
riches cannot answer for us. 

Riches are as indifferent things, good or 
bad, as they are used; be, then, as indifferent 
to them as they are to you. 

If there be too great an affection for any 
thing here, there will be an answerable 
affliction. 

'T is a sad thing when a man can have no 
comfort but in diversions, no joy but in for- 
getting himself. 

Love the men of the world, but not the 
things of the world. 
8 



86 GEMS OF PIETY. 

To have a portion in the world is a 
mercy; to have the world for a portion, is a 

misery. 

Whatever we make an idol of will be a 
cross to us if we belong to Christ; a curse 
to us if we do not. 

We should endeavor to pass through this 
world with a cheerful indifference. 

Covetousness betrayed our Saviour, envy 
accused him, and the friendship of the world 
condemned him. 

Man is not made for the world, but the 
world for man. 

It is our business in this world to secure 
an interest in the next. 

The things of the world, the more they are 
known, the less they are admired; but the 
things of God, the more they are known, the 
more they are admired. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 87 

There is no miss of the creature where 
there is a full enjoyment of the Creator. 

If thou art not afraid of the world, I fear 
thou art a friend of the world, and an enemy 
to God. 



As you love your souls, beware of the 
world; it hath slain its thousands, and ten 
thousands. Tv'hat ruined Lot's wife ? the 
world. What ruined Judas ? the world. 
What ruined Simon Magus ? the world. 
What ruined Dennis ? the world. And 
" What shall it profit a man if he gain the 
whole world, and lose his own soul? " Matt, 
xvi. 26. 

To speak the truth freely, riches are 
dust, honors are shadows, and pleasures are 
bubbles, and a man a lump of vanity, com- 
pounded of sin and misery. 



88 CxEMS OP PIETY. 



OF THE WORD OF GOD. 



u This book, this holy book ! on every line 
Marked with the seal of high divinity/* 

The word of God must be nearer to us 
than our friends, dearer to us than our 
liberty, and pleasanter to us than all earthly 
comforts. 

Take the candle of God's word, and search 
the corners of your heart. 

We speak to God in prayer; God speaks 
to us in his word. 






GEMS OF PIETY. 89 

Two things are to be trembled at — the 
presence of God, which fills all plains, and 
the word of God, which reacheth to all 
times. 

All arguments against tne word of God 
are fallacies; all the conceits against the 
word are delusions; all derision against the 
word is folly; and all opposition against the 
word is madness. 

When God threatens, that's a time to 
repent; when he promises, that's a time to 
believe; when he commands, that's a time to 
obey. 

If a man believed the threatenings of the 
word of God, he would tremble, and fly to 
the promise for refuge. 

As Christ came out of his Father's bosom, 
so the promises came out of Christ's side. 

The Church cannot live without faith, and 
faith cannot live without the promises. 



90 GEMS OF PIETY. 

We have less power to stand tnan our first 
parents, but we have better promises. 

"Whatever promises faith takes hold of, it 
makes the good thing there promised to be 
our own.' 

God's promises are a defence against man's 
threatenings. 

The promises of the gospel are sealed to 
us by the oath of the Father, the blood of the 
Son, and the witness of the Spirit. 



GEMS OP PIETY. 91 



OF THE LAW. 



"The law commands, and makes us know 
What duties to our God we owe." 



The moral law was weak through the flesh; 
the ceremonial law was so in its nature; but 
Christ was the end of the moral law to fulfil 
it, and the end of the ceremonial law to 
answer its intention by offering himself a 
sacrifice. 

Christ was God's righteous servant to 
perform all the duties of the moral law; and 
our devoted sacrifice to bear all the penalties 
of it. 



92 GEMS OF PIETY. 

By the law is the knowledge of sin, by the 
gospel is the knowledge of Christ. 

God hath written a law and a gospel; the 
law to humble us, and the gospel to comfort 
us; the law to cast us down, and the gospel 
to raise us up; the law to convince us of 
misery, and the gospel to convince us of his 
mercy; the law to discover sin, and the 
gospel to discover grace and Christ. 



<i^<^oX$2jCfXD<>sa 



GEMS OF PIETY. 93 






OF PEOYIDENCB. 



" Keposing on Thy heart, 
I hear the blasts of fortune sweeping by, 
As a babe lists to music — wondering, 
But not affrighted.*' 

Pkovidences are sometimes dark texts, 
that want an expositor. 

God's providence fulfils his promise. 

Without God's providence, nothing falls 
out in the world; without his commission, 
nothing stirs; without his blessing, nothing 
prospers. 



04 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OP AFFLICTIONS. 



" The good are better made by ill, 
As odors crashed are sweeter still." 

It is a worse sign to be without chastise- 
ment, than to be under it. 

Two things should comfort suffering 
Christians, viz: all that they suffer is not 
hell; yet it is all the hell they shall suffer. 

Afflictions are not so much threatened as 
promised to the children of God. 

To be a Christian, and a suffering Chris- 
tian, is a double honor. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 95 

By affliction, God separates the sin which 
he hates, from the soul which he loves. 

The more a man fears sin, the less will he 
fear trouble. 

Afflictions are of God's sending, but of 
sin's deserving. Sin is the poison; affliction, 
the physic. 

When God is humbling us, let us endeavor 
to humble ourselves. 

If the servants of Christ are ever so low, 
yet his heart is with them, and his eye upon 
them. 

God takes it unkindly, when we give too 
much for any outward thing; because it is a 
sign we fetch not that comfort from him 
which we should. 

Though the hand of God may be against 
you, yet the heart of God may be towards 
you. 



96 GEMS OF PIETY. 

What if the providence of God cross you, 
if the promise of God bless you ? 

What is bearing a temporal cross to the 
wearing an eternal crown ? 

Our enjoyments are greater than our afflic- 
tions, less than our sins. 

Our sufferings should stir up our graces as 
well as our griefs. 



— ->£^^tfe^^ — - 



GEMS OF PIETY. 97 



OP PRAYER. 



11 A good man's prayers 
Will from the deepest dungeon climb heaven's height, 
And bring a blessing down. 
Who worships the great God, that instant joins 
The first in heaven, and sets his foot on hell." 

Fill up the void spaces of your time with 
meditation and prayer. 

They are the safest who are most in their 
closets, who pray, not to be seen of men, but 
to be heard of God. 

Prayer doth not consist in gifted expres- 
sions, and a volubility of speech, but in 
brokenness of heart. 
9 



98 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Imperfect, broken groans, from a broken 
heart, God will accept. 

A hard heart cannot pray; a broken heart 
is made up of prayer. 

It is a comfort to Christians apart to think 
their prayers meet before a throne of grace, 
and their persons shall meet before a throne 
of glory. 



There wants nothing but a believing 
prayer to turn the promise into a per- 
formance. 



God is a great God, and therefore he will 
be sought; he is a good God, and therefore 
he will be found. 

When God pours out his Spirit upon man, 
then will man pour out his heart before God. 

He that lives without prayer, or prays 
without life, hath not the Spirit of God. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 99 

Prayer doth not consist in the elegance 
of the phrase, but in the strength of the 
affection. 

Where there is a willing heart, there will 
be a continual crying to heaven for help. 

Pray, that you may pray. 

Waiting upon God continually will abate 
our unnecessary cares, and sweeten our 
necessary ones. 

God counts all the steps we take to the 
throne of Grace, and all the minutes of our 
waiting. 

Let nothing get between heaven and 
prayer, but Christ. 

Prayer, if it be done as a task, is no 
prayer. 

Sin quenches prayer; affliction quickens it. 



100 GEMS OF PIETY. 

The same spirit of faith, which teaches a 
man to cry earnestly, teaches him to wait 
patiently; for as it assures him the mercy is 
in the Lord's hand, so it assures him it will 
be given forth in the Lord's time. 

The breath of prayer comes from the life 
of faith. 

Whatever you want, go to God by faith 
and prayer, in the name of Christ, and never 
think his delays are denials. 

They, who spend their days in faith and 
prayer, shall end their days in peace and 
comfort. 



~~&&*m&^~- 



GEMS OF PIETY. 101 






OF ETERNITY. 



" 'T is the life-time of the Deity." 

Look backward, and time was, when souls 
were not; look forward, and our souls will 
be, when time shall not. 

What is the world to them that are in the 
grave, where our bodies must shortly be ? — 
or to them that are in eternity, where our 
souls must shortly be? 

Remember, that you are at the door of 
eternity, and have other work to do than to 



102 GEMS OF PIETY. 

trifle away time. Those hours which you 
spend in your closets, are the golden spots 
of all your time, and will have the sweetest 
influence upon your last hours. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



103 



OP DEATH. 



" Death is the privilege of human nature, 
And life without it, were not worth our taking." 

The longest life is a lingering death; first 
infancy dies, then childhood, then youth, then 
manhood, then old age — and then we make 
an end of dying. 

Though thou mayst have been nearer 
death than thou art now, (in thine own 
apprehensions,) yet it is certain death was 
never so near to thee, as it is now. 



Death, to a Christian, is putting off rags 
for robes. 



104 GEMS OF PIETY. 

We need not be ashamed of that now, 
which we are sure we shall not repent of 
when we come to die. 

As the king of terror leaves us, so the day 
of terror will find us. 

Death will be very terrible to him, who 
dies not in his thoughts daily. 

There is nothing terrible in death, but 
what our lives may have made so. 

It is death to many, to think of death; 
they are as unwilling to be led into a dis- 
course of death, as children into the dark; 
the thoughts of it are no more welcome to 
them, than Moses was to Pharaoh, to whom 
he said, " Get thee from me, and let me see 
thy face no more. 77 Ex. x. 28. 

Death shuts in the light of this world, and 
is the day-break of eternity. 

Let us familiarize death by meditation, and 
sweeten it by preparation. 



GEMS CF riETY. 



105 



Tlic great comfort of a believer, on his 
death-bed, is faith in Christ, hope in the 
promises, and an interest in the covenant. 

This life is a middle state; we must soon 
go higher or lower, where we must spend 
upon the treasure we here lay up, whether 
of wrath or glory. 

It is the great business of life, to think of 
the end of life, and to lay hold of eternal life. 

Let us make a friend of death and our 
Judge, and then we shall die out of choice, 
as well as necessity. 



106 GEMS OP PIETY. 



OF HEAVEN. 



(t Go, wing thy flight from star to star, 
From world to luminous world, as far 

As the universe sproads its flaming wall; 
Take all the pleasures of all the spheres, 
And multiply each through endless years — 

One minute of Heaven is worth them all." 



If heaven doth not enter into us by way 
of holiness, we shall never enter into heaven 
by way of happiness. 

If you would lay up a treasure of glory in 
heaven, lay up a treasure of grace in your 
hearts. 



GEMS OP PIETY. 



107 






If your souls are rich in grace, they will 
be rich in glory. 

The more you do for God in this world, 
the more God will do for you in the world 
to come. 

As heaven is kept for the saints of Christ, 
so they are kept for heaven by the Spirit. 

In heaven, all God's servants will be 
abundantly satisfied with his dealings and 
dispensations with them, and shall see how 
all conduced, like so many winds, to bring 
them to their haven, and how even the rough- 
est blasts helped to bring them homewards. 

How can we expect to live with God in 
heaven, if we love not to live with him on 
earth? 

If thou lovest to worship God here below, 
God will take thee up to worship him above. 
Thou shalt change thy place, but not thy 
employment. 



108 GEMS OF TIETY. 

Heaven is a day without a cloud to darken 
it, and without a night to end it. 

We would be seated in the heavenly 
Canaan, but are loth to be scratched with 
the briars and thorns of the wilderness. 

In heaven, there is the presence of all 
good, and the absence of all evil. 

Grace and glory differ, but as the bud and 
blossom. What is grace, but glory begun? 
What is glory, but grace perfected ? 

We may hope for a place in heaven, if our 
hearts are made suitable in the state of 
heaven. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 109 






OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 



" Sad world of woe ! what heart can bear, 
Hopelesp, in agony to lie ! 
Racked with vexation, grief, despair, 
And ever dying, ne'er to die ' " 

• 

They that will not fear the punishment in 
the threatening, shall feel the threatening in 
the punishment. 

In heaven, holiness is their everlasting 
temper, and happiness their everlasting por- 
tion; in hell, sin is their eternal temper, and 
sorrow their eternal portion. 

The reason why so many fall into hell is, 
because so few think of it. 
10 



110 GEMS OF PIETY. 

None are so near heaven, as tliey that are 
convinced; none so near hell, as they who 
have quenched conviction. 

The scorner's seat stands next to hell's 
gate. 

We must fall into the arms of Christ, or 
into the flames of hell. 

You may think it a sad thing to repent on 
earth, but it is a sadder thing to repent 
in hell. 

A creature's place is a low place, but a 
sinner's place is a lower. 

? T is a weak and wretched thing, by false 
peace to secure eternal sorrow. 



— -ta^^paP^^^ — 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



Ill 



RELIGIOUS OBSERVATIONS 

BY WAY OF SIMILE. 



As rivers and fountains proceed from the 
sea and return thither again, so true grace in 
the heart, as a fountain, sends forth all its 
streams towards God, the ocean from whence 
it flowed. 



Christian graces are like perfumes — the 
more they arc pressed, the sweeter they 
smell; like stars, that shine brightest in the 
dark; like trees — the more they are shaken, 
the deeper root they take, and the more fruit 
they boar. 



112 GEMS OF PIETY. 

As snow is of itself cold, yet warms and 
refreshes the earth, so afflictions, though in 
themselves grievous, yet keep the soul of the 
Christian warm, and make it fruitful. 

The casting down of our spirits in true 
humility, is but like throwing a ball on the 
ground, which makes it rebound the higher 
towards heaven. 

As worldly joys end in sorrow, so godly 
sorrows end in joy. 

As it some times rains when the sun shines, 
so there may be joy in a saint's heart when 
there are tears in his eyes. 

Confession of sin should come like water 
from a spring, that runs freely, and not like 
water from a still, that is forced by the fire 
of affliction. 

As the way to stop bleeding is by opening 
a vein, so the way to stop unreasonable 
sorrow is to turn it against sin. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 113 

Sin is like a bee — with honey in its mouth, 
but a sting in its tail. 

Many a man shifts his sins as men do their 
clothes; they put off one, to put on another. 
This is but waiting upon the devil in a new 
livery. 

The pleasure of sin is like a draught of 
sweet poison. 

As the fly that plays about the candle, 
doth often burn his wings at last, so the 
Christian that parleys with temptations, is in 
danger of having the wings of his soul so 
shortened by the fiery darts of the devil, that 
he will not be able to rise again towards 
heaven, till God shall give him renewed 
affections. 

As Noah's dove could find no rest for the 
sole of her foot, so the Spirit of God can 
find no residence in that heart which is del- 
uged by sin. 

10* 



114 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Our conscience is as fire within us, our 
sins as the fuel; therefore, instead of warn- 
ing, it will scorch us, unless the fuel be 
removed, or the heat of it allayed by peni- 
tential tears. 

All true Christians must be like Noah's 
ark, that was pitched within and without. 
Gen. vi. 14. They must have a holy inside 
and a holy outside ; their profession and 
practice must agree together. 

They that are professors only, and make a 
show of religion for sinister ends, are like 
Orpha; in times of affliction, they will kiss 
their mother and be gone; they will soon 
take leave of the church of God. But they 
that are true Christians are like Ruth; they 
will cleave to her, stay by her, live and 
die with her, and never depart from her. 
Ruth i. 14. 

As it is not putting on a gown that makes 
a scholar, but the inward habits of the mind, 






GEMS OF PIETY. 115 

it is not putting on an outward cloak of 
profession * that makes a Christian, but the 
inward grace of the heart. 

As Noah's dove found no footing but in 
the ark, so a Christian finds not contentment, 
but in Christ. 

Our hearts are like instruments of music 
well-tuned; they will make no melody in the 
ear of God, unless they be gently touched by 
the finger of the spirit. 

Christians 7 hearts are like iron; if they be 
once made hot with the love of God, they 
will more easily be joined together in love to 
one another. 

As the sun ripens and sweetens fruit by 
shining upon it, without which it would be 
sour and unsavory, so is it the sunshine of 
God's love and favor, that sweetens all 
earthly blessings, without which they would 
be but crosses and curses to those that possess 
them. 



116 GEMS OF PIETY. 

God's mercies are as cords to draw us to 
him; but our sins are as sharp swords, that 
cut those cords. 

Outward comforts are like the rotten twigs 
of a tree; they may be touched, but if they 
are trusted to, or rested upon, they will 
certainly deceive and fail us. 

As cankers breed in the sweetest roses, so 
pride may rise out of the sweetest duties. 

A zealous soul, without meekness, is like a 
ship in a storm, in clanger of wrecks; a meek 
soul, without zeal, is like a ship in a calm, 
that moves not so fast to its harbor as it 
ought. 

Notional knowledge is like the light of a 
candle, which enlightens, but does not warm; 
true and saving knowledge is like the sun, 
which not only enlightens, but enlivens. 

As God commanded under the law, that 
the inwards of every sacrifice should be 



GEMS OF PIETY. 117 

burnt, that they might be an offering made 
by tire, of sweet savor unto the Lord, so he 
looks for no less now; for unless we offer up 
our hearts to him on the altar of Christ' s 
merit, with the fire of zeal, our duties will 
never be acceptable to him. 

As Old Testament saints had sacrifices 
under the law, so New Testament saints have 
under the gospel; for every duty in which 
saints consecrate themselves is called sacri- 
fice. And we may parallel law and gospel 
sacrifices thus: Repentance is a trespass- 
offering; zeal, a burnt-offering; praise, a free- 
will-offering ; and sincerity, the oblations of 
unleavened bread. 

A Christian's birth is like the Red Sea, 
that brings him into the wilderness; his 
death is like the Jordan, that brings him 
into Canaan. 

As the waters that sunk the men of the 
old world, raised up Noah in the ark; so 
death, which sinks sinners into hell, raises 
saints up to heaven. 



118 GEMS OF PIETY. 

As lamps fed with sweet oil, cast a sweeter 
smell when they are put out, so after death, 
the memory of the righteous is precious. 

A wicked man is like one that hangs over 
a deep pit by a slender cord with one hand, 
and is cutting it with the other. 



♦ 



GEMS OF TIETY. 119 



SERIOUS ADVICE TO YOUTH. 



,c I would not waste my Spring of youth 
In idle dalliance. I would plant rich seeds, 
To blossom in my manhood, and bear fruit 
When I am old." 

1. Choose God for your portion; remem- 
ber that lie is the only happiness of a rational 
and immortal soul. The soul that was made 
for God, can find no happiness, but in Gocl. 
It came from God, and can never be happy, 
but by returning to him again, and resting in 
him. Micah ii. 10: "Arise, for this is not 
your rest." Col. iii. 1, 2, 3: "If ye be then 
risen with Christ, seek those things which 
are above, where Christ sitteth at the right 



120 GEMS OF PIETY. 

hand of God. Set your affections on things 
above, not on tilings on the earth; for ye arc 
dead, and your life is hid with Christ 
in God." 

God is all-sufficient. Get him for your 
portion, and you have all; then you have 
infinite wisdom to direct you, infinite know- 
ledge to teach you, infinite mercy to pity and 
save you, infinite love to care for and comfort 
you, and infinite power to protect and keep 
you. 

If God be yours, all his attributes are 
yours; all his creatures, all his works of 
providence, shall do good as you have need 
of them. He is an ever-living, ever-loving, 
ever-present friend, and without him, you are 
a cursed creature in every condition, and all 
things will work against you. 

2. Consider that by nature you are dead 
in trespasses and sins — a child of wrath, a 
stranger and enemy to God; and while such, 
the thoughts of God are terrible to you; you 
can expect nothing from him, but wrath and 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



121 






everlasting burnings. God is ever angry 
with the wicked; his holiness hates all sin, 
his all-seeing eye beholds it, and his justice 
will punish it. 

While you are in a state of nature, you can 
do nothing but sin. Gen. vi. 6 ; Matt. vii. 
18. Every thing is a snare, and a wicked 
heart is apt to be taken. Labor to be sensi- 
ble of this, and let the sinfulness of your 
nature be your greatest burden. Strive and 
labor against this principally. Get purity of 
heart, and a holy life will follow upon it; but 
if you strive only against outward acts of 
sin, while your heart is let alone, your labor 
will be in vain. Your heart will tire you 
out; or if it doth not, yet remember, that 
God's eyes are in the heart, and he hath 
provided a hell for hypocrites. Nothing is 
more damnable than a wicked, unrenewed 
heart. 



3. Consider that Christ alone is your way 
to God. Justification, pardon, and accept- 
ance with God, is by faith in him alone. 
11 



122 GEMS OF PIETY. 

Sanctification, and a new nature, is by the 
power of his spirit alone. Let Christ, 
therefore, be precious to your souls. Labor 
for true faith in him. Take him for your 
Lord and Saviour. Submit to his commands 
in all things, and rest your souls upon him 
alone for reconciliation and peace with God. 
Open your heart to the motions of his Spirit; 
welcome the principle of a holy and Divine 
life; and be sure to improve his motions, 
follow his drawings, and by no means 
grieve him. 

4. Be speedy in your repentance, and dili- 
gent in your endeavors after holiness. Know 
the time of God's gracious visitation. While 
God is calling, Christ inviting, the gate of 
heaven set open, the ministers of the word 
exhorting, and the spirit drawing, make 
haste, and delay not. 

Consider, your life is but short, and alto- 
gether uncertain. To defer one day may be 
your everlasting undoing. When your life 
is once gone, it will be in vain to think of 






GEMS OF PIETV, 123 

repenting. You shall then have no more 
sermons, no more offers of Christ and grace. 
Heb. ix. 27. God will be patient no more. 
And if God should take away your life to- 
morrow, you would perish inexcusably for 
refusing his grace to-day. One offer of grace 
refused renders a sinner inexcusable, though 
God should never offer his mercy more. 0, 
trifle not with your soul ! 

Be not careless of eternal happiness! You 
have heaven and hell, life and death, before 
you, and it depends upon your own hearty 
choice, which shall be your portion. And 
they are chosen by the choice of the way 
which leads to them, — choose life, and 
choose it speedily. And remember once 
again, that you have but one life to choose 
in. Trifle not away this moment, upon which 
depends eternity; misspend not your short 
time to your eternal loss. 

Stand not upon a short labor, difficulty, 
self-denial or suffering, for your eternal hap- 
piness. God would have you saved; Christ 
hath died for you, to reconcile you to God; 



124 GEMS OF PIETY. 

he is ascended into heaven to open a door for 
your soul to enter in at, and he is interceding 
with the Father, for all grace and mercy for 
you, if you refuse him not. He came into 
the world, " to seek and to save that which is 
lost. 77 Luke xxi. 10. Be sensible of your 
sinful, lost, damnable condition without him. 
0, make haste to your Saviour, yield to all 
his demands, and take him as offered in the 
gospel, in all his offices. 

5. Endeavor to be truly and thoroughly 
religious, and be not discouraged at the 
difficulties of it. God 7 s grace shall be suffi- 
cient for your help; his promises shall be 
your sweet encouragement ; peace of con- 
science, and communion with God, shall be 
your ever-present cordials. The trouble and 
pains of religion shall be but short, and your 
reward shall be glorious and eternal. 

Remember that saying of the apostle, when 
religion calls you to self-denial and sufferings: 
" Our light afflictions, that are but for a 
moment, shall work out for us a far more 






GEMS OF PIETY. 125 

exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 77 — 2d 
Cor. iv. 17. "If we suffer with Christ, we 
shall also reign with him." — 2d Tim. ii. 12. 
" And the sufferings of this present life arc 
not worthy to be compared with the glory 
which shall be revealed. 77 — Rom. viii. 18. 
" When thou passeth through the waters, I 
will be with thee, and through the rivers, 
they shall not overflow thee; when thou 
walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be 
burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon 
thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy 
One of Israel, thy Saviour. 77 Never are we 
more joyful, than when we deny our joy for 
Christ 7 s sake; and if these arguments will 
not prevail, then consider, that all the pains 
and difficulties of religion will be found in 
the end far more tolerable than hell. 

G. Devote your young years to a good 
God, and your loving Saviour. The first 
fruits are to be offered to him. The green 
ears of youth are to be carried to his sanc- 
tuary. Think it not a pity, that the vain 
11* 



126 GEMS OF PIETY. 

delights and sinful pleasures of youth should 
be lost; you shall exchange them for spiritual 
delights, which are far more excellent, in- 
ward, and lasting. The joy of the Holy 
Ghost, the rejoicing of a good conscience, 
communion with God, the sense of his love, 
and the hope of heaven, arc far better than 
the pleasures of sin, and will more than 
recompense your loss of youthful and carnal 
delights. And consider this seriously, that 
none have usually more comfort in their souls 
than those who are willing to lose their sin- 
ful comforts, for God and their souls' sake. 

Remember that you must give an account 
to God how you spend your youth, as well as 
for old age. Consider, as young as you are, 
how many years are already spent, and what 
account you are able to give to God of them. 
One day spent in sin is too much, and the sins 
of one hour deserve a hell. Younger than 
you are dead and gone. Let the thoughts of 
them remind you seriously of your account. 
Your call to God's bar may be next. Are 
you ready? Think often what expense of 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



127 



time may be best accounted for to God, and 
to spend your younger days as you will wish 
you had spent them, when you come to die 
and be judged. 

Suppose God should call you away sud- 
denly; what sentence could you expect from 
him? Are you ready, if the bridegroom 
shall now come? It will be no excuse at 
judgment, if you be found in your sins, to 
say, Lord, I was young. He that is old 
enough to sin is old enough for hell. You 
cannot make sure of God's love and an 
interest in Christ too soon. You cannot 
secure your souls too soon. 

Consider those young ones in Scripture, 
who are commended for their early piety. 
Samuel was ministering to God ill his child- 
hood. Joshua had a tender heart for God, 
in his tender years. Children sang hosanna's 
to Christ. Timothy was a saint betimes. 
And let these young ones be your pattern. 

The young disciple was the loved disciple. 
God takes great delight in an early convert. 



128 GEMS OF PIETY. 

All your life is duo to God; let him therefore 
have all that still remains, and beg his par- 
don, that any of it hath been denied him. 

Repentance is easiest in youth. Sin is less 
rooted. Satan is not so fortified, grace not 
so much slighted, the spirit not so much 
grieved, and the conscience not so much 
hardened. 

Be sure, therefore, to give God your youth. 
Resolve now to be seriously religious. Now 
beg for the pardon of your sins, and the spirit 
of holiness, and though the generality of 
youth take another course, yet be not swayed 
by the multitude, and carried down by the 
stream towards hell; let them go, you shall 
have better company. The saints of God 
will love you, the angels of God will guard 
you, and the presence of God himself shall 
bo with you. 

And if you find yourself still inclined to 
be as the most are, and to do as the most do, 
consider that you cannot have that pleasure 
in sin which others may. You have had a 



GEMS OF PIETY. 129 

good education, and good instruction; jour 
conscience hath been more awakened, and 
will not suffer you to enjoy the pleasures of 
sin, as others who are more ignorant and 
worse educated may. Conscience will mix 
gall with your honey; when you go to prayer, 
in the evening, upon your bed, when alone 
and retired, or in the dark, it will read sad 
lectures to you, and make you review your 
past delights with bitterness. 

Labor, therefore, to approve yourself to 
God in youth, and though others may con- 
demn you, yet God (from whose mouth only 
you must live or die,) will acquit and justify 
you. 

And as a conclusion of this advice, let me 
persuade you to consider that a forsaking of 
sin when you are most capable of pleasure or 
honor by it, and a turning to God when you 
are most capable of enjoying the world, will 
clearly evidence the truth of your conver- 
sion. So that a timely conversion to God in 
youth, as it is most easy, so it is less ques- 



130 GEMS OF PIETY. 

tionable; for it now appears that God is 
loved for himself, and Christ preferred above 
the flesh, and grace above the sweetest 
delights in the world. 



GEMS OP PIETY. 131 



" spread thy covering wings around, 
Till all our wanderings cease — 
Till at our Father's loved abode 
Our souls arrive in peace." 

1. Make the word of God the rule of all 
you do. 

2. Whatever you do, be sure to do it in 
the strength of Christ. " Without me, (saith 
Christ,) ye can do nothing;" i. c nothing well, 
nothing that is acceptable to God. If you 
do not bear fruit as a branch in Christ, your 
fruit will be but bad and unsavory in God's 
account ; and you cannot bear fruit as a 
branch in Christ, unless all your sap and 
fructifying power be drawn from him by an 
active faith. Paul could do all things 
through Christ that strengthened him. He 
could bear the devil's bufferings by sufficient 



132 GEMS OF PIETY. 

grace from Christ. But of himself he could 
not so much as think a good thought. 

Nature is but a dry root of goodness; no 
gracious action springs from thence. Grace 
depends upon continual supplies, that flow 
from Christ, as sap from the root, or beams 
from the sun. 

If Christ withdraws, your grace presently 
languishes, grows faint and inactive. Know, 
therefore, and mind it before you go to work, 
from whence your strength must come, and 
fetch it in by faith. Without this practice, 
you shall fall in small temptations, and with 
it, stand in great ones. Be strong in the 
Lord, and in the power of his might, and 
nothing shall be too hard for you. Moun- 
tains shall be plains, and valleys filled up. 
All things shall be possible to him that 
believes, and relies upon that power to which 
nothing is impossible. 

3. As you are to act in the power of 
Christ, so you are to present your duties to 
God in the name of Christ. Your most 



GEMS OF PIETY. 133 

costly sacrifices are but unsavory in the 
nostrils of a holy God, if they be not 
perfumed by the fragrant incense of his 
intercession. 

Your righteousness is but as filthy rags, if 
his righteousness doth not cover it. Your 
duties must be dyed in the blood of Christ, 
they must be enriched with his precious 
merits, or they will be too mean for God to 
look upon, unless with indignation. " In the 
Lord have I righteousness and strength." 

4. Whatever you do, do all to the glory 
of God. Duty that does not begin and end 
with God, is no part of goodness. Look, 
therefore, to your end; and never satisfy 
yourself that you have done much, unless 
you have done it well. 

It is the design of the Gospel to take man 
wholly off himself, and cast him wholly upon 
God and Christ. All idols must be cast 
down, that God alone may be exalted. Self- 
emptiness, and God's fulness;, self-deficiency, 
and Christ's sufficiency ; self-righteousness, 
12 



134 GEMS OF PIETY. 

and Christ's righteousness, are the great con- 
victions of the Gospel ; and to make self 
nothing and God all, in point of wisdom, 
strength, righteousness and glory, is the 
great command and duty of it. And by 
these things examine all you do. By whose 
rule have I acted ? By whose strength have 
I acted ? In whose name have I acted ? And 
for whose glory have I acted ? What faith, 
what humility, what self-denial, what love of 
God and Christ hath there been in all my 
actions ? 



-—^j^zQ^jfef^^i- — " 



GEMS OF PIETY. 135 



GENERAL RULES OF ACTION. 



" Let every act of duty be 
Done with a reference, Lord, to thee." 

5. Endeavor to make every day the Lord's, 
to spend it well, and to get nearer heaven by 
it^ And to this end, accept kindly of this 
advice: — 

i. As soon as ever you awake in the morn- 
ing, lift up your heart to God, and open it 
to him. As much as possibly you can, avoid 
all thoughts about the world, until your 
morning devotions are over. For you will 
find by experience, that if the world gives 
your soul the first salute, and be embraced 



136 GEMS OF PIETY. 

with kindness in your morning affections, it 
will greatly deaden your heart in the morn- 
ing duties 

ii. As soon as you are up, present your 
desires to God, in the name of Christ, for 
whatever your souls feel the want of, and 
give God his due praises for his mercies 
towards you the night past. " My voice shalt 
thou hear in the morning, Lord; in the 
morning will I direct my prayer unto thee." 
And for thanksgiving: "It is a good thing 
to give thanks unto thee, Lord; to show 
forth thy loving kindness in the morning." 

in. Let no day go without reading some 
portion of the Scriptures; and it is no great 
matter, whether you read it before you pray 
in the morning, or just after — your inclina- 
tion and experience will direct you — but be 
sure it be done. You will find it very 
profitable to begin the day with such a 
converse with God. " When thou wakest, it 
will talk with thee." See John v. 39, the 



GEMS OP PIETY. 137 

command of Christ; and Joshua i. 8, the 
command of God, with a promise. 

The Scripture discovers sin, and the devil's 
devices, and malice; it discovers duty, and 
the love of God and Christ; and it discovers 
your strength and encouragement; there are 
the promises of assisting and crowning grace. 
By these, the Spirit acts, the devil is con- 
quered, and the soul is comforted. Through 
these, the eye of faith can see the love of 
Christ, the grace of God, and the glory of 
heaven. In these, are the food, the physic, 
and the arms of the Christian's soul. These 
are the words of reconciliation, grace and 
truth, aiM the power of God to salvation; 
therefore, every day look into these, praying 
for the Spirit's teachings, and mixing faith 
with what you read. 

iv. Let all your ordinary or worldly busi- 
ness of the day be done with integrity of 
heart, and a respect to God, whose servants 
you ought to be in all things. Do all things 
as to the Lord, as in his eye, and according 
12* 



138 GEMS OF PIETY. 

to his will, and your whole day's work will 
be, as it were, a religious worship ; this 
respect will make all holy. 

v. Have a care every day, that nothing put 
you into a passion; do nothing with an over- 
eagerness of mind; and be ever upon your 
guard against sudden accidents. And this 
can never be obtained, but by committing 
yourself and your affairs into God's hand 
and care every day, believing that he governs 
all things wisely, and will ever do that which 
is best for you. 

The power, wisdom, and goodness of 
Divine Providence, must every day be 
believed by him that would live in peace 
and tranquility of soul. 

vi. Every evening to your prayers again, 
and to your praises for that day's mercies. 
The Jews were appointed their evening sacri- 
fices, as well as morning. Twice a day is as 
little as can be allowed to those who are 
commanded to pray continually. And every 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



139 



prayer should have its praise in it. " It is 
good to give thanks unto the Lord, to show 
forth his faithfulness every night." A child 
will ask his earthly father's blessing at morn- 
ing and night; and it is better manners, and 
to better purpose, to ask our heavenly Fa- 
ther's blessing as often. We are ever in 
want, and God is ever giving; prayers, 
therefore, and praises are ever suitable and 
becoming. 

Let no day go without observation and 
review of God's carriage towards you, and 
yours towards him; of mercies and afflictions, 
and of your duties and the frame of heart in 
them; of your sins, or inclinations to sin; 
and so likewise of any special or remarkable 
providence of God related to you by others, 
or seen or heard of by yourself. And let 
God have the glory of what is good. In 
afflictions, be humble, be ashamed and grieved 
for sins, and consider what God's special 
providences speak to you. 



140 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OCCASIONAL REFLECTIONS, 

DIRECTIONS, MEANS, AND SIGNS OF GRACE. 



PROPER REFLECTIONS FOR POOR SAINTS. 

11 Poor though I am, despised, forgot, 
Yet God, my Lord, forgets me not." 

Outward good things are no sign of God's 
special law. The sun of prosperity shines 
upon the brambles of the wilderness, as well 
as upon the flowers of the garden; and the 
snow of affliction falls upon the garden as 
well as upon the wilderness. 

What though the streams of creature com- 
fort run low with thee, so thou hast the more 



GEMS OF PIETY. 141 

from the spring's head? There is more 
comfort in one drop that distils immediately 
from God, than from ten thousand rivers that 
flow from creature delights. God doth some- 
times, on purpose, show us the creature's 
emptiness, that we may go to his fulness. He 
makes us, the creatures, to be broken cisterns, 
that we may know him to be the fountain; 
and that we may feed more largely upon 
spiritual dainties, he does deny us carnal 
ones. 

What though God deny thee the earthly 
jewel, if he gives thee the heavenly crown ? 
If thou hast no portion here, thou shalt have 
a kingdom hereafter; and God is thy portion 
here, and so long thou shalt not want any 
good thing. 

Creature comforts, at the best, and to the 
best, are only delightful, not satisfying; 
pleasant, not gainful. 

What if all thy friends forsake thee, so 
long as God (who is better than all) stand 



142 GEMS OF PIETY. 

by thee ! Whatever enjoyment friends afford, 
God does much more. Do they love thee ? 
He died for thee. Do they pity thee in 
affliction? "In all thy affliction, he is afflic- 
ted." What wouldst thou have a friend for ? 
For converse ? taste, and see how good 
and pleasant a thing it is to have communion 
with God ! Hear (if thou canst, and not be 
ravished,) the sweet voice, " I am thine, and 
thou art mine." 0, feel the pantings of his 
heart, and hear the soundings of his bowels ! 
Wouldst thou have a friend to pour out thy 
breast into ? 0, who is so fit for that as 
God ? He will bear part of thy burden, if 
laden, or he will add new strength to sustain 
it. His love, his converse, his society, is life 
itself; and such a life is made up of nothing 
but sweetness and delight. 



-t^#^4^^- 



GEMS OF PIETY. 143 



THE MYSTERY OP A CHRISTIAN. 



" A Christian is the hijhest style of man." 

1. He liveth in another. Gal. ii. 20. He 
is wise in another. 1st Cor. i. 30. He is 
righteous in another. Rom. x. 4. He is 
strong in another. Isa. xlv. 24. 

2. He is very low in humility, but very 
high in hope. He knows he is undeserving 
of the least mercy, yet expects the greatest. 
Gen. xxxii. 10, 12. 

3. He is in the world, but not of the 
world. John xv. 6. In the world as a pil- 
grim, but not as a citizen, his habitation is 
below, but his conversation above. 



144 GEMS OF PIETY. 

4. He is meek, but vehement; meek in his 
own cause, yet vehement in the cause of God. 
As Moses, who was dead to affronts, deaf to 
reproaches, and blind to injuries, he will 
comply with any thing that is civil, but 
with nothing that is sinful. He will stoop 
to the necessities of the meanest, but will 
not yield to the sinful humors of the greatest. 

5. He works out his salvation with fear 
and trembling, yet believes in Christ without 
fear and trembling. He does much for God, 
yet counts himself an unprofitable servant. 
He works as if he was to live here always, 
yet worships as if he was to die to-morrow. 

6. When he is weak, then he is strong. 
When he is most sensible of his own 
weakness, and most dependent on Christ's 
strength, then he stands the safest. 

7. When he is most vile in his own eyes, 
he is most glorious in the eyes of God. 
When Job abhorred himself, then God raised 



GEMS OP PIETY. 145 

him. When the centurion thought himself 
the most unworthy, Christ said, " I have not 
found so great faith, no, not in Israel." 

y 

8. He is content with his condition, yet 
longs and prays for a better. 

9. His losses are gains; his afflictions are 
promotions; his disappointments are prefer- 
ments. 

10. He grieves, yet he rejoices under the 
strokes of his heavenly Father's hands. He 
grieves that his Father's hand strikes him, 
yet rejoices that it is the hand of a father. 

11. He knows there is no absolute perfec- 
tion in this life, yet is continually reaching 
after it. 

12. The less his burden grows, the more he 
feels it. The less sin he hath, the more sensi- 
ble he is of sin; not that sin grows, but light, 
holiness, and tenderness are increased. 

13 



146 GEMS OF PIETY. 

13. He is content to live, yet willing to 
die. He desires to serve Christ here, yet 
desires more to depart, and to be with him 
in heaven. 



«^c>ex^jxQ5Vc^>« 



GEMS OF PIETY. 147 



SOME DOUBTS AND FEARS 

OF A TENDER CONSCIENCE ANSWERED. 



" Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take ; 
The clouds ye so much dread, 
Are big with mercy, and shall break 
In blessings on your head." 

1. I fear Christ is not willing to save me. 

Ans. What is this but limiting or setting 
bounds to infinite mercy? What greater 
signs of his willingness would you have, 
than those he hath already given you ? He 
hath died, and purchased salvation for you. 
He calls, and entreats you to come and 
accept of it. He saith lie w^ill not cast you 



148 GEMS OF PIETY. 

out. He complains that you will not come. 
And wilt thou yet say he is not willing? If 
thou art willing, he never was otherwise. Be 
of good comfort, he calleth thee: " Ho ! every 
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and 
he that hath no money; come ye, buy and 
eat: yea, come, buy wine and milk, without 
money and without price." Bring only 
yourself; come out of need, as all do — as 
the prodigal did. 

2. But I am so unworthy. 

Ans. If you would have nothing but 
what you are worthy of, you would have 
nothing but hell. What was Abraham, or 
Saul, or any, worthy of, before the Lord 
called? Say -not, "I am unworthy." Art 
thou willing: " Whosoever will, let him take 
of the waters of life freely." 

3. But my sins are very great, and I am 
confounded at the sight of them. Alas ! how 
can I think of a pardon ? 



GEMS OF PIETY. 149 

Axs. Are thy sins great; the more need 
thou hast of a Saviour. Greater sinners 
have been pardoned — Menasseh and Saul. 
But dost thou think thou art more guilty 
than Christ is gracious ? Read Isaiah i. 18. 
t; Come, and let us reason together, saith the 
Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they 
shall be as white as snow; though they be 
red like crimson, they shall be as wool." 
11 The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleans- 
eth us from all sin." Bless God for that 
word, all. 

4. But I have a proud and dead heart. 

Ans. Put that among your sins, and come 
to Christ. 

5. My sins are many, as well as great, 
sin daily; I so sin that I must suffer. 

Ans. Yes, if there were none to appear 

for thee. " Her sins, which were many, are 

forgiven her." Christ is a daily advocate. 

11 If any man sin, we have an advocate with 

13* 



150 GEMS OF PIETY. 

the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, and 
he is the propitiation for our sins." This 
Scripture should be as daily bread for believ- 
ers to live upon. 

6. I have sinned against light and con- 
viction. 

Ans. So did David and Peter, who were 
pardoned. 

7. But I am a revolter and backslider. 

Ans. Jer. iii. 1: "Thou hast done wick- 
edly, yet return again unto me, saith the 
Lord." Hos. xiv. 4: "I will heal their 
backslidings. I will love them freely." 

8. I am afraid of departing from God 
again; I have no strength. 

Ans. Isaiah xlv. 24: "Surely shall one 
say, In the Lord have I righteousness and 
strength." 



GEMS OF PIETY. 151 

9. I am afraid to die. 

Ans. Ps. xxiii. 4 : " Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." 
Phill. i. 23: "I am in a strait between two, 
having a desire to depart and be with Christ, 
which is far better." When you die, God 
shall be with you; and you shall be with 
God and Christ for ever. 



-T^^?g^2^7 . 



152 GEMS OF PIETY. 



DIRE CTIONS 

FOR THOSE THAT ARE UNDER CONVICTIONS 
OF CONSCIENCE. 



11 Ah, whither shall I go — 

Burdened, and sick, and faint ? 
To whom shall I in trouble flee, 
And pour out my complaint ? " 



1. Do not presume; you are not yet come 
to the heavenly Canaan. 

2. Do not despair; you are in the way 
to it. 



3. Beware of ill company. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 153 

4. Pear falling away. Heb. iv. 1. Pre- 
serve a tender frame. 

5. Keep up prayer. Be much in ejacu- 
lations. 

6. Do not rest in convictions, nor duties, 
nor any thing short of Christ. 

7. Be much in humiliation and confession. 

8. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day. 

9. Study your soul's ease, and labor to get 
your hearts affected with it, and mortified to 
the world. 

10. Remember the great day of accounts. 
Eccl. xii. 14. 

11. Prepare for, and think not strange of, 
trials. Heb. x. 32. 

12. Let not religion be your diversion, but 
your business. 



154 GEMS OP PIETY. 



DIRECTIONS TO KEEP PROM SIN. 



" Lord, keep the issues of my heart, 
And stir me up to pray." 

1. Run not into temptation. 

2. Maintain a constant watch against and 
fear of sin. 

3. Beware of pride and presumption. 

4. Avoid and abhor slothfulness. 

5. Remember, you stand by faith. Your 
strength is in Christ; look to him for it. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 155 



MEANS TO GAIN REPENTANCE. 



" A vile and sinful worm of earth, 
Low at thy feet I fall." 

1. Sit with care, constancy, and conscience 
under the word of truth and gospel of grace. 

2. Study the nature of God. 

3. Sit loose to the world. 

4. Consider the shortness of life, and the 
limitation of the day of grace. 

5. Be much in the business of self-denial. 
"Stand in awe, and sin not; commune with 
your own heart upon your bed, and be still." 
" Let us search and try our hearts, and turn 
again to the Lord." 



156 GEMS OF PIETY. 

6. Seriously expect approaching judgment. 

7. Think much of death and eternity. 

8. Wash thy heart in the blood of Jesus, 
and take every day a turn on Mount Calvary. 

9. Seriously apprehend the possibility, nay 
the probability, nay the absolute certainty, 
of a pardon through Christ. 

10. Sue for repentance at the hand of God. 
Say with Ephraim, " Turn thou me, and I 
shall be turned; for thou art the Lord, my 
God." 



— "^^^S^^ 



GEMS OF PIETY. 157 



MEANS TO LIVE AT PEACE. 



" Peace o'er my heart 
Its blessed influence shed." 

1. Mind your own business. 

2. Keep your tongue from evil. 

3. Do not contend for every trifle, whether 
it be a matter of right, or opinion. 

4. If others neglect their duties to you, be 
sure that you perform yours to them. To 
render railing for railing, is to return sin 
for sin. 

5. Make your enemy see and feel your love 
to him. 

14 



158 GEMS OF PIETY. 



MEANS TO BE CONTENT. 



"Poor and content is rich, and rich enough-" 

1. Consider, you have what God allots 
you, what his providence allows you. Your 
crosses and comforts are mixed by his hands. 
It is the will of God, that you should be thus 
and thus. Labor, then, to have that dearer 
to thee than any thing in the world. 

2. Consider, that if you have fewer com- 
forts, and more crosses, you ought to be 
thankful; for, do you know what you have 
deserved ? " 'T is of the Lord's mercy that 
vou are not consumed." 



GEMS OF PIETY. 159 

3. Whatever comes, take it as from the 
hand of God. Assure yourself, that without 
his permission and direction, it could not 
come. 

4. Prepare to receive the will of God, 
and look for changes and alterations in the 
world. 

5. Faith is another means to quiet, satisfy, 
and content the mind. That assures us that 
that which is consistent with the love of God 
may well be borne. Outward losses and 
afflictions are consistent with the love of God. 
" Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." 

6. We are all subject to alterations; our 
life, health, estate, friends, families, and all 
we have, are liable to changes. Let us then 
fix upon a God that never changes, that never 
fails, who is from everlasting to everlasting. 
Let us depend upon a God that depends upon 
none. And what though our house be not so 



160 GEMS OF PIETY. 

with God as it hath been; yet if he hath 
made with us an everlasting covenant, we 
have great reason to be content with all his 
outward dealings with us. 



* 



L 



GEMS OF PIETY. 161 



MEANS TO PRESERVE MERCIES. 



" When all thy mercies, my God, 
My rising soul surveys, 
Transported with the view, I 'm lost 
In wonder, love, and praise." 

1. Be thankful for them. 

2. Receive them as mercies, not as dues. 

3. Prepare to part with them. 

4. Expect the continuance of mercies from 
God; he is the strength of our life, the staff 
of our bread, the breath of our nostrils, and 
the length of our days. 

14* 



162 GEMS OF PIETY. 



SIGNS OF SINCERITY. 



" The painted hypocrite is known 
Through the disguise he wears." 

1. Prayer is a sign of sincerity, if it be 
secret, frequent, fervent. 

2. A willingness to be searched by God, 
by the righteous, by ministers, by conscience, 
by the Scripture. Sincere souls love sincere 
dealing. 

3. A sense of sin, particularly of spiritual 
sins : and of original sin ; especially when it 
drives to Christ. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 163 

4. When a man is most sensible of, and 
watchful against, his own sin, his constitu- 
tional sin is the beam in his own eye. 

5. Universal tenderness. When a man 
will not plead for any sin, nor quarrel with 
any of the commandments. 

6. It is a sign of sincerity when a man 
chooses affliction rather than sin. 

7. When a man relies upon Christ for 
strength against sin. 

8. When a man loves God above all, and 
loves others principally for what is God-like 
in them. 

9. When a man delights in the word of 
God. 

10. When he makes conscience to watch 
his heart in duty. 

11. When a man's thoughts run freely on 
heavenly things. 



164 GEMS OF PIETY. 

12. When the glory of God is preferred 
above all. 

13. When a inan's profession is joined 
with meekness. 

14. A well-governed tongue, when a man 
dares neither boast of himself, nor censure 
others. 

15. Constancy in the ways of God. Such 
a man is not a hypocrite. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 165 



SHORT QUESTIONS, 

WHEREBY WE MAY KNOW WHETHER THE 
HEART BE TRULY CHANGED. 



1. Hath thine heart been turned into 
sorrow for sin ? 

2. Hath thy sorrow turned into prayer? 

3. Hath thy prayer turned into faith ? 

4. Hath thy faith issued in universal 
tenderness and obedience ? 



186 GEMS OF PIETF. 



SIGNS OP FAITH. 



11 Faith lends her realizing light, — 
The clouds disperse, the shadows flee.** 

To those that believe^ 

1. Christ is precious. 

2. The word is sweet. 

3. Sin is bitter. 

4. Prayer is delightful. 

5. Saints are dear. 

6. Religion is their business. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 167 

7. The world is a broken idol. 

8. Death is welcome. Or this : 

They that believe, 

Have Christ in their hearts, heaven in their 
eye ; and the world under their feet ; God's 
Spirit is their guide ; God's fear is their 
guard ; God's people are their companions ; 
God's promises are their cordials ; holiness is 
their way, and heaven is their home. 



■ — s ^£0d&£r- 



168 GEMS OF PIETY. 



SIGNS OF LOVE TO CHRIST. 



They that love Christ, 

1. Love to think of him. 

2. They love to hear of him. 

3. They love to read of him. 

( of ) 

4. They love to speak < for > him. 

( t0 ) 

5. They love the presence of Christ. 

6. They love the yoke of Christ. 

7. They love the ministers of Christ. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 



169 



8. They love the name of Christ. 

9. They hate sin. 

10. They are pleased when Christ is 
pleased. 

11. They are grieved when Christ is 
grieved. 

12. They long to be with Christ. Christ's 
will is their will ; Christ's dishonor is their 
affliction ; Christ's cause is their care ; 
Christ's ministers are their stars ; Christ's 
saints are their companions ; Christ's day is 
their delight ; Christ's word is their oracle ; 
Christ's glory is their end. 



c=^=^cx^i(^5Xc^^o 



15 



170 GEMS OF PIETY. 



SIGNS OF THE FEAR OF GOD. 



A man that fears God, 

1. When he dares not sin, though solicited, 
and tempted to it. 

2. When sin is common and yet he fears 
it. 

3. When he is afraid of an evil thought. 

4. When he dares not sin, though he should 
suffer if he does not. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 171 

5. When his heart is broken, and trembles 
at the word of God. 

6. When he flies to Christ. 

7. When he is studious to please God, 



■ — *£M^fe^^ — • 



172 GEMS OF PIETY. 



SIGNS OP TRUE GRACE. 



1. When self-loving is turned into self- 
loathing ; self-excusing into self-condemning; 
self-admiring into self-abhorring ; self-seeking 
into self-denying. 

2. It is a sign of true grace when a man 
seriously complaints of the want of grace. A 
graceless person cannot truly complain that 
he hath no grace. There is grace in that 
complaint. 

3. "When the heart is tender, and feels the 
power of an ordinance. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 173 

4. When the soul hath an appetite after the 
word. 

5. When a man makes a conscience of 
secret prayer. 

6. When we are taken with their conversa- 
tion and manner of life who are most 
spiritual. 

7. When we are willing to be acquainted 
with Christ, and reconciled to God upon any 
terms. 

8. When a man approves of all duties. 

9. When we desire more grace ; there is 
grace in the desire of grace, as there is sin in 
the desire of sin r Neh. i. 11 ; Ps. lxxxiv. 5. 



-~^#^&^Hs— 



15* 



174 GEMS OF PIETY. 



OF BEING IN CHRIST. 



11 Alive in him our living head 
We 're clothed with righteousness divine." 

There is no condemnation to them that are 
in Christ Jesus. Nothing but condemnation 
to them that are out of him. Faith makes 
Christ ours. This consists in self-denial, and 
self-resignation. We must see our sins so far 
as to abhor ourselves ; abhor ourselves so far 
as to deny ourselves ; deny ourselves so far 
as to resign ourselves up into the saving arms 
of an only Saviour. They that do this are 
pardoned, sanctified, saved for ever. 

Now let me entreat you to ask your own 
heart some questions. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 175 

1. Hath sin been laid to my heart ? hath it 
been my greatest burden ? 

2. Have I confessed my particular sins, and 
the sinfulness of my nature, with sorrow ? 

3. Have I been forced to make my appeal 
to Christ, knowing that I am lost for ever, 
unless he freely save me ? Have I cried for 
Christ as a condemned man for pardon ? 

4. Do I believe that he is able and willing 
to save me ? Do I believe that he that spread 
his arms on the cross to die for me, spreads 
his arms in the gospel and in heaven to save 
me ? Have I pleaded his promises ? ! 
what a precious promise is that, John vi. 37 : 
11 Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise 
cast out ! w 

5. Have I joy and peace in believing? 
Hath Christ calmed and quieted my poor, 
troubled, afflicted soul? 



176 GEMS OF PIETY. 

6. Do I love Christ more than riches, 
honors, pleasures? Do I love all his ordi- 
nances ? Do I love all his saints ? 

7. Do I hate sin in itself ? Do I hate sin in 
myself? Do I hate every sin, every false 
way? 

8. Do I unfeignedly, entirely yield up 
myself to the service of my Saviour ? 

If your heart answer affirmatively to these 
questions, happy, happy, are you. 



c^=^cx^xj5Xo<3no 



GEMS OF PIETY. 177 



RULES OP LIVING. 



Would you live holy, observe these 
rules. 

1. Live in the eye of God. 

2. Observe the example of Christ. 

3. Consider the fruit and end of things. 
The fruit of sin is shame and sorrow. Sin is 
a viper in the end ; but the fruit of righteous- 
ness is peace ; holiness is eternal life in the 
end. 

4. Bind the commandments upon your 
heart. 



178 GEMS OF PIETY. 

5. Shun the appearance and the least 
beginnings of sin. 

6. Be frequent and fervent in secret 
prayer. 



Would you live comfortably take these 
directions. 

1. Live not so much upon the comforts of 
God as upon the God of comforts. Be afraid 
of unbelief; that is a great sin. Do not 
enlarge your sins above God's saving power. 
Believe in the word firmly and constantly. 
Trust perfectly in the grace and mercy of 
God in Christ. " I will trust in the mercy 
of God, (saith David,) for ever and ever." 
Ps. iii. 8. 

2. Beware of sin, especially of wilful sin ; 
that will bring a cloud, and make a breach 
between God and your soul. 






GEMS OF PIETY. 179 

3. Do not mind earthly things. ! take 
heed of unlawful affections; of an unlawful 
carriage of the heart about lawful things. 

4. Examine the way of your heart daily; 
search yourself. " What sin have I commit- 
ted?" Every night look back upon the 
thoughts and affections, and speeches of the 
day past. 

5. Examine your heart farther, and consider 
the gracious actings and workings of God's 
blessed Spirit within you. What good 
desires, aims, and resolutions God hath put 
into you. Consider what out-goings of your 
heart after God, there have been; what 
incomes and influences of his grace. Daily 
examine your heart for these things, and give 
God the glory of all the gracious workings 
of his Spirit in your soul. 

6. If you would walk comfortably with 
God ; mind not what is forged, but what is 
written. Heed not every fancy which Satan 



180 GEMS OF PIETY. 

may dart into your soul; (for then you lie at 
the mercy of your enemy,) but keep close to 
the written word of God. " Thus it is writ- 
ten," said our Saviour to Satan the tempter. 



Would you walk peaceably and charita- 
bly, take these rules. 

1. Remember God hath called you to 
peace. 

2. Remember, when Christ was reviled, he 
reviled not again. 

3. If others neglect their duty to you, do 
not you neglect your duty to God nor to 
them. Let not another's sin cause you to sin; 
to render railing for railing, is to return sin 

for sin. 



GEMS OF PIETY. 181 

4. You must show your love to God ? whom 
you have not seen, by your love to your 
brother, whom you see daily. Show your 
piety by your charity. 

5. Consider that an unbridled tongue, is 
the sign of an unsatisfied heart. They that 
have not grace to tame their tongues, shall 
one day want a drop of water to cool their 
tongues. 

6. Do good to others, if they do not thank 
you for it. The less reward you have on 
earth, the greater shall your reward be in 
heaven. As the less wages the servant takes 
up within his year, the more comes in at the 
year's end. 



— M> ^> : a«g ^>* — 



16 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Nov. 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

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